PennPIRG Education Fund - Make VW Payhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/topics/make-vw-pay
enFrom Deceit to Transformationhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/reports/pap/deceit-transformation
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Released by:
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PennPIRG Education Fund
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-01-18T00:00:00-05:00">Wednesday, January 18, 2017</span>
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<span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="PDF icon" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="https://pennpirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/PennPIRG%20FInal%20Paper.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=1013468">PennPIRG FInal Paper.pdf</a></span>
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<p>Environmental Mitigation Trust: An Opportunity for Transformation</p>
<p>Volkswagen (VW) perpetrated a fraud on the American people, deceiving consumers into believing that they were getting the best possible combination of performance and sustainability. But VW’s promises were nothing more than lies that significantly harmed our collective health and the health of our environment. Yet, their deceit now represents a historic opportunity to drastically reduce harmful pollution that makes us sick, destroys the planet, and provides an essential down payment toward the transition to a clean and modern 21st century transportation system.</p>
<p>This future, however, is not assured.</p>
<p>There remains a real risk that these funds will be wasted on outdated and polluting technologies, including those that rely on diesel and natural gas, while foregoing the transition to clean, all-electric vehicles (EVs) and supporting infrastructure. Indeed, of the numerous possible uses outlined in the VW settlement, many allow for the replacement of older dirty diesel technology with new, still dirty, diesel technology, compressed natural gas, or diesel-electric hybrids.<a title="" href="#_edn1">[i]</a></p>
<p>Relative to all-electric vehicles, diesel and natural gas produce more significantly more tailpipe nitrogen oxides (NOX) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as more total emissions over their lifecycle. In fact, in 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans based on evidence that exposure increased the risk for lung cancer, highlighting the importance of transitioning away from diesel, in particular.<a title="" href="#_edn2">[ii]</a></p>
<p>Accordingly, investing in diesel and natural gas technologies with VW settlement funds would represent a significant missed opportunity to accelerate the transformation to an all-electric, clean-running transportation network that could help reduce illness, save lives, and protect the planet. The VW settlement<a title="" href="#_edn3">[iii]</a> clearly envisions and encourages such a use. For instance, the Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT), established under the VW settlement, can be used to subsidize 100 percent of the purchase of clean all-electric buses for use in public transit agencies throughout the country. Similarly, up to 15 percent of each state’s VW EMT funds may also be invested in the acquisition, installation, operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including along the states’ highways.<a title="" href="#_edn4">[iv]</a> Placing these publicly available charging stations on government owned property would allow the state to take advantage of the 100 percent subsidy provided under the VW settlement while reducing key impediments to the transition to an all-electric vehicle fleet.<a title="" href="#_edn5">[v]</a></p>
<p>Given the structure of the VW settlement and its available uses, the overwhelming need to reduce harmful emissions that make us sick and destroy the planet, along with the opportunity to accelerate a market transformation toward an electrified transportation system, our report recommends that the maximum allowable amount (15 percent) be invested in fast charging electric vehicle infrastructure and the remaining amount (85 percent) be spent on new all-electric transit buses to replace older, outdated diesel buses.</p>
<p>Ensuring that the funds are used in this way has several distinct benefits including, but not limited to:</p>
<ul><li>Drastically reducing NOx, ground-level ozone (smog), and particulate matter to protect our health and environment;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Significantly reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Reducing long-term fuel consumption, maintenance, and operation costs of public fleet vehicles;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Adding needed stability to the price of energy inputs for vehicles;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Increasing public awareness and adoption of EVs as cleaner alternatives to traditional gas-powered vehicles.</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref1">[i]</a> Allowable uses include replacing or repowering Class 8 Local Freight Trucks and Port Drayage Trucks; Class 4-8 School Bus, Shuttle Bus, or Transit Bus; Freight Switchers; Ferries/Tugs; Ocean Going Vessels (OGV) Shorepower; Class 4-7 Local Freight (Medium Trucks); Airport Ground Support Equipment, Forklifts, and Light Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Supply Equipment. See United States District Court Northern District of California, Partial Consent Decree, Appendix D-2, accessed at <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download">https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download</a> (pg. 208-220).</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref2">[ii]</a> World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, <em>IARC: Diesel Engine Exhaust Carcinogenic (press release), </em>12 June 2012, accessed at <a href="http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2012/pdfs/pr213_E.pdf">http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2012/pdfs/pr213_E.pdf</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref3">[iii]</a> The VW settlement refers to the partial consent decree between Volkswagen and the U.S. Department of Justice over the affected 2.0-liter vehicles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref4">[iv]</a> United States District Court Northern District of California, Partial Consent Decree, Appendix D-2, accessed at <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download">https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download</a> (pg. 216).</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref5">[v]</a> United States District Court Northern District of California, Partial Consent Decree, Appendix D-2, accessed at <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download">https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download</a> (pg. 216).</p>
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How Pennsylvania Can Leverage Volkswagen Settlement Funds to Accelerate the Progress to a Clean Transportation System
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Wed, 18 Jan 2017 15:42:05 +0000mroles52851 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/reports/pap/deceit-transformation#commentsFramework for VW Settlement Announcedhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/usp/framework-vw-settlement-announced
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For Immediate Release
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-04-21T00:00:00-04:00">Thursday, April 21, 2016</span>
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<div>Statement by Mike Litt, Consumer Program Advocate at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, on todays announced VW settlement.</div>
<p>“Seven months after news of Volkswagen’s emission scandal broke, we're glad to hear that there is a 'framework' for a settlement in the cases related to VW's 567,000 fraudulently marketed, illegally polluting cars. This framework appears to include all of the elements that a deal should include, but the devil will be in the details.</p>
<p>Given the nature of VW's violations, a settlement needs to make consumers whole and compensate for the environmental damage while totaling a penalty large enough to discourage VW and others from this behavior in the future. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that further delay means that these polluting cars remain on the road -- emitting up to 40 times the allowable level of pollution -- for even longer.</p>
<p><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">For more details on what a strong settlement agreement ought to look like, please see </em><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><a style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;" href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">the open letter</a>.</em></p>
<p><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"> </em>-30- <br /><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">U.S. PIRG Education Fund is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organizations that stand up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society. On the web at <a href="http://uspirgedfund.org">http://uspirgedfund.org</a>.</em></em> </p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">The letter was signed by Clean Air Watch, Environment America, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG Education Fund. </em></a></strong></p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><br /></em></strong></p>
<div>
<div>Dear Judge Breyer, Attorney General Lynch, Administrator McCarthy, Chair Nichols, and President Woebcken:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>We, the undersigned consumer, environmental, and public health organizations, write in advance of the April 21<sup>st</sup> deadline for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal. We would like to submit our criteria by which we believe a proposal should be evaluated.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>After seven months since news of the scandal broke, Volkswagen still has not committed to making consumers or the environment whole again for the harm caused by its deceitful use of “defeat devices” in 567,000 “clean” diesel cars, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of smog causing NOx pollutants. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A proposal to hold Volkswagen accountable to consumers, our environment, and public health and that deters future violations by VW or other companies should be evaluated by the following criteria:</div>
<div>
<ol><li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Mitigate past, ongoing, and future emissions</span></span>
<ul><li>Affected cars that can be fixed to meet emission standards should be fixed. </li>
<li>Affected cars that can only be partially fixed should receive the available repair if owners choose not to accept buybacks of their cars.</li>
<li>Volkswagen should offset its past and ongoing emission violations. The future emission violations of cars that are not fixed or only partially fixed should also be calculated and offset.</li>
<li>Develop a robust in-use testing protocol to ensure that if the vehicles are repaired, the vehicles remain in full compliance for the vehicles’ full useful life, in real world driving conditions.</li>
<li>The emissions control system must not be allowed to degrade over time to exceed the standards, and EPA and CARB must assure the public that there is no further cheating by Volkswagen. <span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"> </span></li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Make consumers whole by offering to buy back their affected cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Simply fixing the cars still leaves customers less than whole. Whether a full or partial fix is available, the cars could get lower gas mileage and have weaker performance than promised and advertised, and the Kelley Blue Book values will likely diminish further. </li>
<li>Full compensation is a buyback at full purchase price of the cars.</li>
<li>However, VW should at least compensate owners 1.5 times the Kelley Bluebook value of the affected vehicles on the day before the scandal was discovered or publicized, as NHTSA has ordered manufacturers in some other recalls to do. </li>
<li>Bought back cars that cannot be fully repaired to meet emission standards should be scrapped.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Mitigate environmental harm caused by scrapping cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Environmental harm caused by scrapping cars should be assessed and offset</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Assess large civil penalties.</span></span></span>
<ul><li>The Clean Air Act sets a maximum penalty of $37, 500 per car or over $18 billion in total penalties. A large civil penalty will send a strong deterrent message to others not to violate the law.</li>
<li>VW should not be allowed tax write-offs for any penalties.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>In addition to offsetting the NOx emissions directly attributable to the defeat devices and offsetting environmental harms caused by scrapping cars, VW should set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). </li>
<li>Volkswagen would be motivated to work with the EPA to create a SEP, which could offset a portion of the civil penalties while achieving concrete pollution reductions. The SEP should direct a substantial amount of funds, perhaps calculated on a per-car basis, to create a fund for state and local governments, as well as private-sector entities, to implement projects to reduce pollution from on-road vehicles and increase deployment of zero-emission electric vehicles.</li>
<li>Any SEP should be above and beyond other remedies so automakers don’t take the lesson that all they need to do to cure cheating is to pay money as a cost of doing business. </li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Criminally charge responsible executives and hold the firm criminally accountable</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>Full justice includes criminally charging individual executives who are responsible for the scandal. </li>
<li>It also includes the full array of criminal monetary penalties and other criminal remedies available under the law against the firm, not only to punish it but also to deter similar misconduct by others.<br />
</li>
</ul></li>
</ol></div>
<div>Sincerely,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Clean Air Watch</div>
<div>Environment America</div>
<div>Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus Public Citizen</div>
<div>Public Citizen</div>
<div>U.S. PIRG Education Fund</div>
</div>
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<a href="/topics/consumer-protection" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Consumer Protection</a> </div>
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<a href="/topics/make-vw-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Make VW Pay</a> </div>
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<a href="/topics/transportation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transportation</a> </div>
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Devil Will Be in the Details
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U.S.PIRG Education Fund
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<p>Statement by Mike Litt, Consumer Program Advocate at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, on todays announced VW settlement. For more details on what a strong settlement agreement ought to look like, please see <a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">the open letter</a> that we released earlier this week with other consumer and environmental groups.</p>
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Thu, 21 Apr 2016 16:47:55 +0000klee48321 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/usp/framework-vw-settlement-announced#commentsLeading Groups Send Criteria for Evaluating VW Settlementhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement
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<a href="/topics/consumer-protection" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Consumer Protection</a> </li>
<li class="field-item odd">
<a href="/topics/make-vw-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Make VW Pay</a> </li>
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Seeking Compensation for Consumers and Environment
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<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div>Dear Judge Breyer, Attorney General Lynch, Administrator McCarthy, Chair Nichols, and President Woebcken:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>We, the undersigned consumer, environmental, and public health organizations, write in advance of the April 21<sup>st</sup> deadline for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal. We would like to submit our criteria by which we believe a proposal should be evaluated.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>After seven months since news of the scandal broke, Volkswagen still has not committed to making consumers or the environment whole again for the harm caused by its deceitful use of “defeat devices” in 567,000 “clean” diesel cars, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of smog causing NOx pollutants. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A proposal to hold Volkswagen accountable to consumers, our environment, and public health and that deters future violations by VW or other companies should be evaluated by the following criteria:</div>
<div>
<ol><li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Mitigate past, ongoing, and future emissions</span></span>
<ul><li>Affected cars that can be fixed to meet emission standards should be fixed. </li>
<li>Affected cars that can only be partially fixed should receive the available repair if owners choose not to accept buybacks of their cars.</li>
<li>Volkswagen should offset its past and ongoing emission violations. The future emission violations of cars that are not fixed or only partially fixed should also be calculated and offset.</li>
<li>Develop a robust in-use testing protocol to ensure that if the vehicles are repaired, the vehicles remain in full compliance for the vehicles’ full useful life, in real world driving conditions.</li>
<li>The emissions control system must not be allowed to degrade over time to exceed the standards, and EPA and CARB must assure the public that there is no further cheating by Volkswagen. <span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"> </span></li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Make consumers whole by offering to buy back their affected cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Simply fixing the cars still leaves customers less than whole. Whether a full or partial fix is available, the cars could get lower gas mileage and have weaker performance than promised and advertised, and the Kelley Blue Book values will likely diminish further. </li>
<li>Full compensation is a buyback at full purchase price of the cars.</li>
<li>However, VW should at least compensate owners 1.5 times the Kelley Bluebook value of the affected vehicles on the day before the scandal was discovered or publicized, as NHTSA has ordered manufacturers in some other recalls to do. </li>
<li>Bought back cars that cannot be fully repaired to meet emission standards should be scrapped.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Mitigate environmental harm caused by scrapping cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Environmental harm caused by scrapping cars should be assessed and offset</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Assess large civil penalties.</span></span></span>
<ul><li>The Clean Air Act sets a maximum penalty of $37, 500 per car or over $18 billion in total penalties. A large civil penalty will send a strong deterrent message to others not to violate the law.</li>
<li>VW should not be allowed tax write-offs for any penalties.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>In addition to offsetting the NOx emissions directly attributable to the defeat devices and offsetting environmental harms caused by scrapping cars, VW should set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). </li>
<li>Volkswagen would be motivated to work with the EPA to create a SEP, which could offset a portion of the civil penalties while achieving concrete pollution reductions. The SEP should direct a substantial amount of funds, perhaps calculated on a per-car basis, to create a fund for state and local governments, as well as private-sector entities, to implement projects to reduce pollution from on-road vehicles and increase deployment of zero-emission electric vehicles.</li>
<li>Any SEP should be above and beyond other remedies so automakers don’t take the lesson that all they need to do to cure cheating is to pay money as a cost of doing business. </li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Criminally charge responsible executives and hold the firm criminally accountable</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>Full justice includes criminally charging individual executives who are responsible for the scandal. </li>
<li>It also includes the full array of criminal monetary penalties and other criminal remedies available under the law against the firm, not only to punish it but also to deter similar misconduct by others.<br />
</li>
</ul></li>
</ol></div>
<div>Sincerely,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Clean Air Watch</div>
<div>Environment America</div>
<div>Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus Public Citizen</div>
<div>Public Citizen</div>
<div>U.S. PIRG Education Fund</div>
</div>
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 18:23:30 +0000klee48186 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement#commentsLeading Groups Send Criteria for Evaluating VW Settlementhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-04-19T00:00:00-04:00">Tuesday, April 19, 2016</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div><strong>Washington, D.C.</strong>— Four leading consumer, environmental, and public health organizations wrote an open<strong> <a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">letter</a></strong> in advance of the April 21<sup>st</sup> deadline set by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal. <span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">The <strong><a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">letter</a></strong> highlights six main criteria by which a proposal should be evaluated to compensate consumers and the environment and deter future criminal acts:</span> </div>
<div>
<ol><li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Mitigate past, ongoing, and future emissions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Make consumers whole by offering to buy back their affected cars </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Mitigate environmental harm caused by scrapping cars</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Assess large civil penalties. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Criminally charge responsible executives and hold the firm criminally accountable</span></li>
</ol></div>
<p><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">After seven months since news of the scandal broke, Volkswagen still has not committed to making consumers or the environment whole again for the harm caused by its deceitful use of “defeat devices” in 567,000 “clean” diesel cars, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of smog causing NOx pollutants. </span></span> </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">“All government enforcement agencies and civil society parties should have an opportunity to hold the company accountable for one of the largest corporate scandals in history,” the letter concludes.</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">The letter was signed by Clean Air Watch, Environment America, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG Education Fund. </em></a><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"> </span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"></span></strong><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"> </em><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">-30-</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"></span><span style="font-size: 1.385em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.538em;">Please see the <a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">letter</a> below for details about the criteria by which a proposal should be evaluated.</span></h2>
<div>
<div>Dear Judge Breyer, Attorney General Lynch, Administrator McCarthy, Chair Nichols, and President Woebcken:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>We, the undersigned consumer, environmental, and public health organizations, write in advance of the April 21<sup>st</sup> deadline for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal. We would like to submit our criteria by which we believe a proposal should be evaluated.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>After seven months since news of the scandal broke, Volkswagen still has not committed to making consumers or the environment whole again for the harm caused by its deceitful use of “defeat devices” in 567,000 “clean” diesel cars, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of smog causing NOx pollutants. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A proposal to hold Volkswagen accountable to consumers, our environment, and public health and that deters future violations by VW or other companies should be evaluated by the following criteria:</div>
<div>
<ol><li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Mitigate past, ongoing, and future emissions</span></span>
<ul><li>Affected cars that can be fixed to meet emission standards should be fixed. </li>
<li>Affected cars that can only be partially fixed should receive the available repair if owners choose not to accept buybacks of their cars.</li>
<li>Volkswagen should offset its past and ongoing emission violations. The future emission violations of cars that are not fixed or only partially fixed should also be calculated and offset.</li>
<li>Develop a robust in-use testing protocol to ensure that if the vehicles are repaired, the vehicles remain in full compliance for the vehicles’ full useful life, in real world driving conditions.</li>
<li>The emissions control system must not be allowed to degrade over time to exceed the standards, and EPA and CARB must assure the public that there is no further cheating by Volkswagen. <span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"> </span></li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Make consumers whole by offering to buy back their affected cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Simply fixing the cars still leaves customers less than whole. Whether a full or partial fix is available, the cars could get lower gas mileage and have weaker performance than promised and advertised, and the Kelley Blue Book values will likely diminish further. </li>
<li>Full compensation is a buyback at full purchase price of the cars.</li>
<li>However, VW should at least compensate owners 1.5 times the Kelley Bluebook value of the affected vehicles on the day before the scandal was discovered or publicized, as NHTSA has ordered manufacturers in some other recalls to do. </li>
<li>Bought back cars that cannot be fully repaired to meet emission standards should be scrapped.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Mitigate environmental harm caused by scrapping cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Environmental harm caused by scrapping cars should be assessed and offset</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Assess large civil penalties.</span></span></span>
<ul><li>The Clean Air Act sets a maximum penalty of $37, 500 per car or over $18 billion in total penalties. A large civil penalty will send a strong deterrent message to others not to violate the law.</li>
<li>VW should not be allowed tax write-offs for any penalties.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>In addition to offsetting the NOx emissions directly attributable to the defeat devices and offsetting environmental harms caused by scrapping cars, VW should set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). </li>
<li>Volkswagen would be motivated to work with the EPA to create a SEP, which could offset a portion of the civil penalties while achieving concrete pollution reductions. The SEP should direct a substantial amount of funds, perhaps calculated on a per-car basis, to create a fund for state and local governments, as well as private-sector entities, to implement projects to reduce pollution from on-road vehicles and increase deployment of zero-emission electric vehicles.</li>
<li>Any SEP should be above and beyond other remedies so automakers don’t take the lesson that all they need to do to cure cheating is to pay money as a cost of doing business. </li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Criminally charge responsible executives and hold the firm criminally accountable</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>Full justice includes criminally charging individual executives who are responsible for the scandal. </li>
<li>It also includes the full array of criminal monetary penalties and other criminal remedies available under the law against the firm, not only to punish it but also to deter similar misconduct by others.<br />
</li>
</ul></li>
</ol></div>
<div>Sincerely,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Clean Air Watch</div>
<div>Environment America</div>
<div>Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus Public Citizen</div>
<div>Public Citizen</div>
<div>U.S. PIRG Education Fund</div>
</div>
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<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
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<a href="/topics/consumer-protection" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Consumer Protection</a> </div>
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<a href="/topics/make-vw-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Make VW Pay</a> </div>
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<div class="field field-name-field-shared-subtitle field-type-text field-label-hidden">
Seeking Compensation for Consumers and Environment
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<div class="field field-name-field-shared-organization field-type-text field-label-hidden">
U.S.PIRG Education Fund
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<p>Four leading consumer, environmental, and public health organizations wrote an open <a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">letter</a> in advance of the April 21<sup>st</sup> deadline set by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal.</p>
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Tue, 19 Apr 2016 16:24:48 +0000klee48171 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement#comments